Broken and Reborn
by Serenity Valley Girl
Summary: For the Mini-Challenge at Copper for a Kiss. Post-BDM, just a little what might have been.


Author: Serenity Valley Girl aka bdhgirl  
Prompt #9 Heart of **rayneshippers**' mini challenge table created by bugchicklv.  
Rating: PG  
Disclaimer: Joss is boss, I'm just playing in his sandbox.  
Word Count: 1303

A/N: And I really want to say thank you to who ever put me up for a "Best of Rayne" for "What Jayne Wants." I really am trying it finish it. Also, in a shameless self promotion let me say that my one shots "Five First Times" and "Making a Choice" are listed on Pretty Deadly as 2008 because that's when I added them to my livejournal but I first posted them in 2007 n . So if someone wanted to nominate them...I would be so honored if you think they are deserving.

* * *

He hadn't thought he still had a heart to tear out. All those years of being a merc-killing and threatening, not to mention leaving his home moon at 16-his heart had ceased to trouble him long ago.

But when River had done that gorram dive through the closing doors n Mr. Universe's moon he had felt as if his heart was being ripped right out of his chest.

It was only when those go se doors had opened again and she'd been standing there with Reaver bodies all around her that his heart had begun t beat again. And he had known-_she_ was his heart. In that moment the old Jayne died and a new man was reborn. Not a perfect man and not always a god man but a man who would try.

* * *

18 Months Later

It was amazing how much good had come out of the ashes of Miranda.

It hadn't happened overnight but slowly the remaining crew had managed to brush themselves off and keep flying. After 6 months of dancing around each other and find reason after reason not to take Inara back to her girls, Mal finally pulled himself together long enough to kiss Inara in the heat of one of their many arguments. Things moved quickly after that. In quick succession Inara resigned as an active companion and transferred to the therapy division. Next thing anyone knew they'd gotten married and 9 months to the day after the wedding little Michael Wash Reynolds was born.

Kaylee and Simon had moved faster than Mal and Inara to no one's surprise. What had shocked everyone was that when Kaylee turned up 4 months pregnant she refused Simon's proposal. Actually she'd refused to speak to him at all, except to answer medical questions, for a solid month.

Finally, River explained to her crushed brother how frightened Kaylee was that he had proposed out of duty. And that since the warrants for their arrests had conveniently disappeared off the cortex courtesy of their friendly neighborhood Operative Simon would want to return home to his surgical career and his proper core-bred women.

Simon had quite the time convincing Kaylee just how wrong she was. In the end, he asked River to rig the lock on Kaylee's bun so it would only open for her and made River promise to only open the hatch when he supplied her with the pre-arranged password. It took almost 3 days but Kaylee finally heard him. Three days of cold protein and various snacks and nutritional supplements he'd begged from Jayne for the occasion. Three days of trying everything he could think of to make her understand that he wasn't going anywhere, that he loved her.

Mid morning on the third day Simon screamed in desperation "Kaylee, you crazy pregnant woman, if I was going to leave why would I have spent my cut from our last 3 jobs on this engagement ring?!" pulling out an emerald engagement ring.

That stopped both of them in their tracks; Kaylee in shock and Simon in horror. He'd had no intention of asking her until they had sorted out the problems they were having. He'd wanted to ask her in a romantic setting with a candlelit dinner and roses. Not in the heat of anger.

The tears rolled slowly down her stunned face before she burst into a radiant smile and with a ferocious squeal leapt into his arms.

After a marathon conversation punctuated with crying and kissing, Simon and Kaylee decided to chalk the whole experience up to pregnancy hormones and move on to planning their wedding and setting up the nursery.

After trying to find time between crimes to get to Kaylee's hometown for Simon to meet Kaylee's folks and have a wedding in the home she'd grown up in they were finally married by Mal in the infirmary just an hour before their daughter Hanna River Tam was born.

That was a loud few months on Serenity. Mal and Inara's son was colicky and Hannah was teething. Plus there was Zoe's daughter running around getting into everything.

3 months after Wash's death Zoe had gone to see Simon. Just a few months before Miranda Wash had decided that maybe having a baby wouldn't cause the worlds to stop spinning. Zoe was barely able to breathe as she waited for Simon to run the test. She had truly thought it was just grief when she missed her flow after Miranda but when it happened a second time the hope had flared in her chest. The third time it happened she knew she had to see Simon. Simon had delivered the news to her and then she'd told the rest of the crew at dinner that night. It was as if a sense of hope and security was restored to Serenity and her crew that night. So it only seemed right that the child was named Serenity Hope.

As for River and Jayne, that took some time. For months after Miranda River was occupied with trying to cope with the barrage of emotions constantly surrounding her and with trying to put the pieces of herself back into a coherent and working order. Meanwhile, Jayne was morning the loss of Book and working on becoming the better man River made him want to be.

It was a year to the day after Miranda when Jayne and River finally let their feelings be known.

A job had gone bad. Not horribly bad just your typical 'remind me one more time why we let Mal plan anything besides dinner' kind of bad. Jayne and River had both taken bullets but neither was hurt badly and Mal was bleeding all over the place so Simon set them up in the mess with his med bag and told them to call if they needed help tending to each other.

River was shocked when she looked up from Jayne's wounded thigh to see him staring at her with tears in his eyes.

"Does it hurt? Should I get Simon?" asked River worriedly. As she began to stand up he reached out and took her hand.

"Naw, it ain't s bad."

"Than what is it?"

They stood there staring into each other's eyes neither noticing her small hand was still clutched in his large one.

"Ya coulda been killed," was Jayne's soft reply.

Glancing down at her calf she said, "Just a flesh wound; she is in no danger."

"But ya coulda been and ain't never…I wanted to…you're just…aw hell."

With that incoherent statement Jayne pulled gently on River's hand guiding her into his lap and setting his lips softly on hers.

For a moment their lips simply rested together then as if by unspoken agreement their mouths opened simultaneously and their tongues came together and their arms went around each other.

They were never sure how long they sat there lost in the heat and sweetness of their first kiss. What finally broke them apart was the sound of several people clearing their throats. Jerking apart the two looked up to see the entire rest of the crew standing next to the table. Inara and Kaylee were smiling at them; Simon and Mal were smirking and Zoe had her usual inscrutable look but Jayne thought he saw a twinkle in her eye.

"Well Doc," said Mal with a victorious sounding voice, "Guess you owe me a month of garbage duty. You said it would be another month before these two realized what the rest of us have known for a good six months."

"Wha…" Jayne tried to come up with some sort of a response or justification or even a complete sentence. "Hell," was the best he could come up with before River took his chin gently in her hand and guided his lips back to hers.


End file.
